


and may the stars lead you home

by reefasrobot



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, KH3 spoilers, Light Angst, Post-Canon, Selphie is in this for like one scene, featuring a whole fight scene with Kairi because she deserves it, nomura pls let them be friends, rikai bonding because im still upset
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-02
Updated: 2019-04-02
Packaged: 2020-01-01 00:45:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18325280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reefasrobot/pseuds/reefasrobot
Summary: Returning after you didn't think you were going to ever again is a little strange to deal with. She neveraskedto be saved.(or, in which Kairi comes back a little different, with a lot of guilt, and Riku tries to help)





	and may the stars lead you home

**Author's Note:**

> Quite clearly, this has major KH3 spoilers.
> 
> KH3 didn't give me Kairi and Riku interaction so I guess I have to do it myself. It didn't give me enough Namine either, so now she's in this too. Just let the Destiny Trio uh know... be a trio? Please??

“It’s finally getting quieter around here, huh?” Selphie mused. “The tourists are gone again. We’re free to roam at last!”

The two girls next to her followed her line of sight, past the school gates and into the streets. The main island was never the main destination for tourists, but most inns were there, and the streets are empty again. “Well, I’m pretty sure summer vacation is over everywhere now,” Naminé said, judging from what she had heard from her friends.

Kairi nodded, then pressed a finger against her lips in thoughts. “It’ll definitely get busier for the festivals though.”

“Festivals?”

“Oh, right, you’ve never seen them! They’re these little celebrations schools do! Not as big as the midsummer stuff, but it’s more… intimate? Since it’s mainly just for us. All the school clubs does a little thing, it’s a lot of fun,” Kairi explained, recalling the previous celebrations held on the islands.

Selphie suddenly clapped her hands together, making the other two jump in surprise. “Naminé! You should join up with the art club! You draw, and you’re not in any yet, right? You won’t get the full experience otherwise!”

Naminé looked at Kairi questioningly, but the redhead just shrugged and smiled at her. “It’s up to you. You could just give it a try for the festival, if you’re not sure. They’d be glad to have you. No rush to decide either,” she added upon noticing her friend’s uncertain expression.

“Well, give it some thought. You have the whole weekend!” Selphie exclaimed excitedly. “See you on Monday!” Selphie waved at the pair as they separated at the school gates. Kairi and Naminé waved back, the two of them heading in the direction of their home while Selphie ran off to her part time job. Naminé felt a warmth bubble up in her, a kind of happiness growing more and more familiar, but still so wonderfully enjoyable every time.

School was nice. She enjoyed being around people, and all of Kairi’s friends welcomed her into their group with open arms. She wasn’t a complete stranger to it, having seen both Sora’s memories, and even Kairi’s when they rejoined, but knowing was nothing like actually experiencing it. Mostly though, she enjoyed being in the real world, and being around her Somebody.

At the thought, Naminé glanced at Kairi, who met her eyes and gave her a warm, albeit confused smile. Naminé smiled back, and the two girls continued their walk in silence.

She still remembered the sensation of being pushed out and away from the other girl, and not being able to feel her for the first time in her life. She remembered the link between them rebuilt and snapped again. She remembered coming back and not understanding how, when she still can’t feel the connection to her other half. Can’t feel the connection to the boy who helped bring her into existence, either. Remembered Riku’s explanation of what happened, the emptiness constantly taunting her.

Then suddenly the bond tied to her heart was there again, and Kairi fell into the ocean. Alone, upset, quiet. Memories overlapped in Naminé’s mind; they were all gone, they weren’t, she was gone, she was there but alone, Kairi came back with a smiling brunette at her side, he left, Kairi returned alone, he never made it back.

She needed the reassurance that Kairi was there, that this was real.

“Are we going to the play island today?” Naminé asked when they entered the air conditioned building that was Kairi’s home, leaving their shoes at the door. She sighed in relief at the cool air that greeted them. Destiny Islands in summer got unbearably hot, much more than what she was used to. She had never been so grateful that Kairi’s adoptive father was the mayor.

“Yeah! Meeting up with Riku to spar, you can watch if you want!” Kairi replied, already making her way upstairs. Naminé made a detour to the kitchen and filled up some bottles with cold water before following her into their room, where Kairi was quickly replacing her school uniform with the shorts and sleeveless hooded top she often wore for training, along with a fingerless glove on her right hand—meaning they were probably going to do magic training.

Naminé set down the bottles on her table followed the suit, changing into a white, short sleeved top with a hood and some loose light blue pants that just reached above her knees. A part of her wanted to wear things that weren’t white, but they were much more comfortable for the heat.

Behind her, Kairi was throwing some ethers into her bag, grabbing one of the bottles and throwing that in too. Naminé, on the other hand, packed her sketchbooks and some pencils into a small bag. The sketchbook was one of a growing collection, mainly full of practice from watching they keyblade wielders spar.

Her fingers brushed a box on Kairi’s table when she was grabbing the pencil Kairi borrowed, something she was sure the other girl noticed, but didn’t say anything about. It was one of those things they knew instinctually not to mention. Not yet, anyway.

“You know, you could join in on magic practice if you want to,” Kairi pointed out, eyeing the sketchbook. “Doesn’t it get boring just watching us?”

“I don’t mind,” Naminé answered softly. “I like watching you. Fun color compositions, you know,” she said as an excuse. It’s not like she didn’t want to practice magic, but Kairi had been restless since she got back, and Naminé joining in would just force her to hold back. Riku, on the other hand, can take it with no problem.

Kairi seemed doubtful of Naminé’s answer, but fortunately didn’t push any further. It was true that Naminé never seemed bothered by just watching. “Okay then, whatever you say.”

 

* * *

 

 _Naminé felt something click into place and looks up._ You’re here! You’re here, aren’t you? You’re finally back. He did it.

_A star shot across the sky and lands into the water. Naminé looks away from the tree and at the crowd gathered around a girl’s body. She was slow, didn’t make it down there until the commotion had grown. “Is she…?”_

_Alone. She was alone. Naminé gasped, feeling something else shift, and she didn’t… She blinked several times, trying to make sense of the overlapping images in front of her. Kairi was back, alone. She felt her come back, but that wasn’t what was supposed to…_

_“Naminé, you’re here. They managed to do it. I’m glad.”_

_She rushed forward, meeting clouded blue eyes, and suddenly she understood. She was connected to both of them, of course she did. Naminé pulled her into her arms and squeezed tightly, as tightly as she can._

_“I’m sorry.”_

 

* * *

 

Riku raised his keyblade to block her strike, before successfully countering and knocking her back. She recovered quickly, though, getting to her feet and shooting a Fira that forced him to roll to the side, followed by another one that he barely managed to dodge. Kairi grinned triumphantly at that, and Riku huffed in annoyance. Of course she’d develop a liking for fire spells. She trained with _Lea_.

“C’mon, _Master_ Riku,” Kairi taunted, pointing her keyblade at him. “Don’t go holding back on me now!”

Riku rolled his eyes and gripped his keyblade tightly before warping right in front of Kairi, forcing her to go on the defensive, the two of them trading blows. Kairi’s eyebrows knitted in concentration, Riku managed to push her back until they were up to their ankles in seawater before Kairi used a Watera to let herself step away and followed by a Blizzard.

He dodges again and rushes at her, forcing the fight to go on his terms. Kairi was getting better at varying her magic and using it more, but because of it sometimes she ends up fighting more at a distance. Riku knew they said they were going to practice magic today, but he wasn’t about to just let her control the flow of the fight.

Kairi didn’t manage to hit him directly, but for a really flowery keyblade, the thing hit hard. Still, Riku had more experience, and when it comes to melee combat, he still had the upper hand. It didn’t help that Kairi seemed distracted today, choosing to hit harder and faster rather than look for openings. A part of him wanted to remind her, but another part of him was just struck by how familiar it felt, sparring against her. They had been doing it more often lately, true, but it reminded Riku of _him_.

To be specific, it reminded Riku of how he used to fight, at least, before he gained a larger arsenal of skills to use. Back when he was still learning. Maybe it was because she had been in his heart when he first learned to use the keyblade, but Kairi’s basic instincts when it came to fighting reminded Riku of Sora.

“C’mon, is that all you’ve got?” Riku found himself taunting, pushing Kairi more and more. She didn’t seem to mind, if anything, she seemed excited at the prospect of having to work harder.

Kairi suddenly cast an Aero that propelled her into the air and kicked up sand around Riku. She couldn’t quite use flowmotion, but it did give her enough space to send a beam of light hurtling towards Riku that he didn’t manage avoid due to his obscured sight. “Well I thought this was supposed to be magic practice,” she shot back at him, landing in a neat roll.

Well, it is, and Riku had to give her props for creative use of magic and the environment. She sent another beam of light at him and Riku threw a barrier up, wincing. The affinity for light magic was definitely all her, and although Riku wasn’t particularly affected by light magic, it was not something that worked with him well. At all.

Alright, time to get more serious it is. Riku fired off a Blizzara, hoping to trap her or slow her down, followed by a Thunder that Kairi had to avoid by using Aero to throw herself in the air again. She grinned at him though, gathered energy, making the tip of her keyblade glow, and when she raised up her keyblade, pillars of light shot down from the sky.

Okay, as easy it as it was for Kairi to use light magic, that was definitely Roxas or Xion’s work. Riku used a Reflect this time, managing to send the light bouncing back at her. He doubted it would actually hurt her, being a Princess of Heart and all, but it gave him time to send off a Firaga in her direction—and he cursed.

A Dark Firaga shot out of his keyblade instead, and before he could do anything, the dark flames reached Kairi’s bare hand, and the world exploded into light.

It burned. The light was hot, too much, too bright, pushing at him and trying to swallow up his darkness, trying to gather it up, get rid of it. Riku dropped his keyblade and felt the light wrapping around him, too much, _too much_.

When the light cleared, Riku had been thrown back into the sand several feet away, and Naminé was crouching at his side. Around him, specks of black scorched the sad, and before him, Kairi stood with wide eyes. Her outstretched hand was transparent, almost waterlike, a bright like shining from within. She was shaking.

“Kairi, are you—“ he began, trying to get up, but stumbled, gripping his side in pain. Kairi’s eyes widened even further. She took a step away from him, staring at her still-glowing hand, then at him, on the ground.

“I’m sorry,” she blurted out before turning around and dashing away. Riku tried to push himself to his feet, but Naminé’s hand remained firm on his shoulder, keeping him him place. When he turned, he found the blonde haired girl staring at the direction her Nobody had gone with unreadable eyes.

Naminé tried to give Riku a reassuring smile, but it came off sad instead. “We should give her space. I think she needs it,” she said, hands curling around the fabric of her shirt. “Besides, you’re in no shape to go after her.”

Naminé’s hands relaxed and she raised them, palms facing Riku. “May I? I’ve been practicing with Aerith during our visits to Radiant Garden.”

“Yeah, sure.” Riku nodded. Naminé copied the movement and closed her eyes. A soft, green glow emanated from her hands, spreading and enveloping Riku. It was warm and welcoming, closing up the small scratches on his elbows and restoring his energy. “Woah. You’re gettin good at this.”

“Thank you,” Naminé replied, lowering her hands. Her eyes, however, kept drifting in the direction Kairi went. Clearly, she was as worried as he was, maybe even more.

Riku sighed and let himself drop down onto the sand, staring up at the clear sky. “What even _was_ that?” he questioned out loud. Some kind of light spell, maybe, but he had never seen anything like it. Maybe it had something to do with Kairi’s heart being pure light, but even so, that level of magic should be out of her control.

“I’m not sure, but I believe it has to do with the circumstances of her return.” Naminé said slowly, as if she was choosing her words carefully. “It could be that her light was just… reacting.”

“Her return?”

 

* * *

 

_There was a loud splash, and a girl washed up against the shores of Destiny Islands. Riku couldn’t help but feel like a child again, trying to peek around the crowd of adults bringing the mysterious girl from another world in. Except this time, the redheaded girl wasn’t some mystery to be solved, it was his friend._

_Lea lowered her onto the sand, and Kairi’s eyes opened. Blank. Riku was once again reminded of that day, and felt fear crawling up his spine. What if this was another repeat, what if she opened her eyes and didn’t recognize him, didn’t recognize any of them, knew nothing but her name?_

_Kairi’s eyes cleared, and Riku sighed in relief. But then she looked around frantically, at the crowd, at the sky, at the sea, and when their eyes met, Riku realized what was wrong._

_She was alone._

 

* * *

 

Kairi let go of the vines and dropped onto the ground, breathing hard. She ran away, like a coward. Ran off to a spot not even Riku knew about, not that he realized how many of those existed now. She spent ages exploring the islands alone after the boys didn’t return, after all. She probably knew most hidden spots out of all of them.

This one was particularly hard to get to, mainly because you had to wade through water into a cave and climb some large rocks to reach the small stretch of sand it hid. It offered a great view of the ocean, not that she was paying attention.

She sighed and glared at her arm, now back to normal, but still unnaturally warm. Just great. Now she’d be even more useless in a fight, hurting her own allies with stupid uncontrollable powers. She kicked at the sand in frustration and buried her face into her knees.

It happened so quickly. She was going to block, but she was too slow, and something in her exploded against the darkness, forcing it out, out, out. What the heck. The darkness wasn’t bad on its own, it was nothing to be afraid of, she knew this. It was just something you used, so why had she reacted so violently to it?

Because she was afraid. Because she remembered being flooded with darkness, except her heart didn’t have any darkness in it, and it couldn’t get in, so she was lost instead. Lost in nothing for ages, in pieces, in peace, barely even there until that warm smile came for her and dragged her back.

Kairi chuckled humorlessly. Maybe she was better off on the sidelines anyway, and this was just further proof that she was just a hazard. After all, she finally had a chance to fight, and she blew it completely. She ended up getting kidnapped, _again_ , and now Sora was gone, _again_ , maybe for good this time, and it was because she couldn’t protect herself.

 _Again_.

Wow, she really did more harm than good now, didn’t she? Maybe there was a reason she was left on her own all this time.

She rubbed furiously at her eyes until she just gave up and let the tears pour out. Some guardian of light she was. She didn’t know how long she stayed there, just upset at herself, but soon the water had reached her feet, and the sun’s heat had grown considerably cooler. Her eyes hurt, and so did her arms from where her nails dug into the skin.

“Stupid Sora,” she muttered. “You promised you’d make it back. You said we wouldn’t be apart again. Idiot. Should’ve left me behind.”

“You know, Sora would probably complain about you calling him stupid.”

Kairi’s head snapped up and she found familiar teal eyes looking down at her, before the light haired boy settled into the sand next to her. He had both his and Kairi’s shoes in his hand. That must be how he found her, or Naminé helped, most likely both. Kairi wiped at her eyes some more, but Riku didn’t say anything else, just let her gather herself.

“Sorry,” she mumbled again, watching the waves lapping at their feet with sudden interest. “Wasn’t careful.”

“Nah, I wasn’t careful,” Riku answered easily, eyes cast towards the horizon. “I should’ve watched myself more. I don’t think you even did that on purpose, and besides, I’ve had my share of killer spells. I mean, have you seen Roxas fight?”

Kairi appreciated his attempts at clearing the air, not that she thought it worked. Riku grimaced at her lack of answers and sighed. “Naminé helped me, if you’re worried about that,” he said, and Kairi had to admit it made her shoulders relax a little. “She’s getting good. You are, too.”

“Thanks to Roxas and Xion,” she finally said after a long pause, sneaking a look at Riku. Her childhood friend looked pleasantly surprised at her reply. “Who’d have guessed that the ex-Organization members are the one who used light magic a lot?” It was more than just that, of course. Their fighting styles worked with each other well, so it ended up being easier for her to learn from them. “Better than Lea forcing fire magic down my throat, at least.”

Riku chuckled at the remark. “To be fair, I feel like you’re pretty close to pulling off Firagas and Firazas, thanks to him. Probably shouldn’t let him hear that, though. He’d never shut up about it.”

“Yeah, can’t let him know he actually succeeded.” She snickered, feeling the tension escape her, but a little guilt sneaking back in, too. She hadn’t talked to Lea much, after everything. It wasn’t intentional, both of them having other things on their minds, but she couldn’t help but feel bad about it.

Their laughter died down, and Kairi fidgeted, trying to find the words to say. When did she get so bad at this? “You know, you remind me of him when you fight. You fight like him,” Riku broke the silence, his tone almost unbearably fond. “I think he’d be really proud.”

“Oh,” was all that Kairi managed to get out, feeling tears prickling at her eyes again. She sent Riku a watery glare. The boy’s eyes widened and he looked like he was about to reach for her, but restrained himself, glancing at his hand uncertainly. The motion made Kairi do the same to her own hand, and she let out a frustrated noise.

This sucked.

“Kairi…”

“He’s supposed to be here. He was supposed to let me _go_ , dammit. I was okay with it, but he showed up and I thought, maybe, _maybe_ , the three of us can finally be together again. But I didn't—I never _asked_ to be saved!” Kairi spat out, barely managing to sort out her words. She swallowed, her throat closing up on her. “I just… I don’t know what to do, Riku. Nothing I try seems to work out.”

Suddenly, Kairi feels a gloved hand grab hers, forcing her attention onto Riku. His eyes bore into her with an unfamiliar intensity, telling her, _‘Listen.’_

“This was Sora’s choice. He knew the risks, he knew even before he went after you. Maybe he knew that this was coming anyway, even if he didn’t go after you. We can’t tell for sure. But we can’t give up on here. He’s out there, I know he is. Dozing off again, probably. Besides, he’s—“

“Too stubborn to die,” Kairi finished. “I know.”

Riku gave her hand a squeeze, then ruffled her hair with his other hand. “We’re glad you’re back, Kairi. And we’ll drag him back too, alright? I don't want to just have one of you here. You deserve to be here as much as anyone else. Okay? We would've gone after you, too.”

Kairi nodded, before flopping down to lay on the ground. "Okay."

She was tired. The sky above her was painted shades of reds and yellows, mixing into each other. It reminded her of Twilight Town. “One sky, one destiny,” she murmured, the old sentence floating back into her mind. The worlds are connected, sharing the same destiny. She wondered what that meant for them. Back then, it let her reach Riku and Sora in the Realm of Darkness, back when they still had a job to do. Now, with the war done?

“Riku, can I ask for a favor?”

 

* * *

 

_A pleasant, familiar warmth enveloped her. She felt herself being stitched back together and drawn closer to the light. It felt like sweet fruit on her tongue, the cheerful laughter of a child, the sound of a clean sea breeze greeting her._

_She opened her eyes to the sun beating down on her skin. The Realm of Light. Home. Not the empty nothingness she had been floating in, not the strange realm where hearts wandered. Home. And she shouldn’t be._

_“No. No, no, no, no!” She looked around her, searching for the boy that had reached out for her, but she only had to look inside for the answer. Her heart knew._

_The others were here too, she realized, crowded around her in concern. She couldn’t pay attention to that, though, trying to cling onto the thread she had been holding onto. The thread that lead to him, the one that was slowly slipping away from her. Hot tears slid down her cheeks. She was making the others worry. They must have noticed too, by now._

_“Come back. Sora, you promised. You promised,” she whispered. He was supposed to be_ here _. “Sora, please.”_

_The thread slipped out of her grip._

 

* * *

 

Riku and Kairi sat side-by-side on the tree, _their_ tree, an empty spot left on Kairi’s side. Riku had a clear glass bottle in his hand, while Kairi had a wooden box in her lap. Inside were all the letters she had written over the course of her training, the ones she never quite gathered the courage to send out.

“Are you sure about this?” Riku asked, holding up the empty bottle.

The redhead nodded confidently and opened the box, taking out one of the letters and rolling it up into a tube. “It worked before,” she reasoned. Riku handed her the bottle and Kairi slipped in the letter before shutting the bottle with a cork. Then, with probably too much force, Kairi hurled the bottle towards the ocean.

There goes one of them. “What are you going to do about the rest of them?” Riku questioned, eyeing the stack of paper still sitting in the box.

“Well, I figured you could take care of that, Riku,” Kairi answered easily, managing to catch her friend off-guard. She gave him a judging look, because really, did he expect her to not know what he was planning? “I know you’re planning on going after him.” She shoved the box into his lap. “So take that.”

“Kairi, I—“ Riku tried, but Kairi’s eyes saw right through him, those blues as deep as the ocean itself.

“When you go to other worlds, if you find an ocean,” Kairi began, turning her head away from Riku, “Send out one of those for me. Maybe they’ll reach him faster that way. I can’t try to stop you, so I’m asking you to do that for me.” Then, bitterness evident in her voice, she added, “I can’t go with you. Not until I figure _this_ out.”

Riku followed her line of sight to her bare hand, and felt protest climbing up his throat. He wanted to tell her he didn’t care, that she should just go with him now, but he knew better. She made up her mind, and this was something she had to figure out on her own. She had to respect that. _‘I’ll be back,’_ he wanted to say, but Sora said the same thing, didn’t he? And here he was, about to go look for him again.

“Besides,” Kairi continued, laughing humorlessly. “Someone has to stay behind and hold the fort. I mean, I can’t just ditch everyone.”

“Catch up to me,” Riku finally said as he pushed off the tree, making Kairi look up sharply. “When you’re ready, come find me, and we’ll go looking for him together, okay? I won’t go far but I can’t… not do anything. But I won’t go anywhere you can’t follow, I promise.”

Kairi just stared at him for several beats, but she eventually nodded. She hopped off her spot on the tree and wrapped her arms tightly around him. “You better keep it, or I’m gonna kick your butt,” she muttered into his chest.

Riku laughed lightly and hugged her back gently. “You’re welcome to do exactly that. I’m a keyblade master after all, I have responsibilities, unlike that lazy bum.”

Kairi pulled back and rolled eyes eyes, but she was shaking with laughter, and her smile, for once, reached all the way to her eyes. Riku let out a small sigh of relief. They’ll be okay — she was gonna be okay. Kairi deserved more credit for how well she was able to take care of herself.

Suddenly, he felt Kairi pry his hand open and place something into his palm. A star-shaped charm, made out of seashells that transitioned from a creamy yellowish color into blue at the tip, a crown at the center of it. A good luck charm, similar to the one Kairi gave Sora all that time ago.

“I figured it’d be fair for all of us to have one,” Kairi said, pulling out her own charm out of her pocket. “Aqua helped me do magic on it, the same kind she put on her, Ven, and Terra’s wayfinders. It helped them get back to each other, so maybe…”

“Thanks. I’ll keep it safe,” Riku said, pocketing the charm away.

“Yeah, you better! Don’t lose it, I worked hard on it,” Kairi huffed, putting hers away too. “May your heart be your guiding key,” she recited. She looked up at the sky. It was the middle of the day now, and the sky was clear and blue, but she continued anyway. “And may the stars lead you ever closer to home.”

Riku raised an eyebrow. “Where did you get that last part?”

Kairi shrugged. She wasn’t sure, exactly. It just… felt right. The stars were worlds, after all. And they travelled through worlds until they found the one that was home. “It just felt right.”

**Author's Note:**

> That was my first time writing a proper fight scene, and they weren't actually even fighting, but I hope it turned out okay! Kairi deserves to kick a little butt at least, I did quite enjoy how she fought in KH3 and I NEEDED MORE. Her combos reminded me a bit of Sora, and she was with him when he first learned, so it felt appropriate to put that there.
> 
> Ahem yeah I played around quite a lot when it came to how Kairi came back. Just threw in some theories plus my own highly unlikely head canons into one whole mess. Maybe I'll go further into it one day... Thanks for reading!


End file.
